Thursday, March 31, 2011

The story follows a young couple on the verge of divorce and dealing with the loss of their child. Their life is complicated further by the arrival of a young visitor (Sara Paxton) with supernatural implications.

Music video director Todd Levin makes his feature debut here, using a specialised camera to allow filming in 3-D on a limited budget. Ugh!!

Though the script based on the intense comic series The Boys isn’t complete, director Adam McKay is already meeting with various actors to star in the project. MTV chatted with him this weekend, and apparently McKay’s talked with Russell Crowe about playing Billy Butcher, who is the leader of the CIA team The Boys.

Additionally, McKay has unofficially (?) offered the role of Wee Hughie to Simon Pegg. Here’s what he had to say:

"Everyone knows Simon Pegg can take Hughie if he wants. I don't know what his schedule is like, though."

It was recently reported that Jennifer Garner would play Miss Marple in a Disney-produced adaptation. Obviously the studio wants to make things a bit more modern… and the Agatha Christie heroine younger and more box-office friendly.

However, the deal isn’t official just yet. According to Deadline Hollywood, the estate that owns rights to Agatha Christie’s works hasn’t officially closed the deal with Disney just yet.

Personally, I can’t blame them. Can anyone imagine Christie herself even considering this adaptation, let alone allowing it to actually happen? That being said, she’s probably rolling over in her grave right about now.

The story centers on the friendship between a 17-year-old and a sentient hologram he meets who claims to be the thirty-something adult version of himself and helps guide the teen through high school. Bieber's casting is set, though Kutcher involvement is less certain.

Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod directed this adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's story of Georges Duroy (Pattinson), who travels through 1890s Paris, from cockroach ridden garrets to opulent salons, using his wits and powers of seduction to rise from poverty to wealth, from a prostitute’s embrace to passionate trysts with wealthy beauties, in a world where politics and media jostle for influence, where sex is power and celebrity an obsession.

“We were really true to the book and because the guy is basically a s**t who wins everything at the end it’s really difficult to market it – especially with me in it. Everyone’s worried that everyone’s going to be thinking, ‘Oh I want him to be nice, he’s got to be nice to all the ladies'”.

Colin Farrell is all set to play Douglas Quaid in the film which is ditching the Martian locations of the earlier effort in favor of a near-future Earth.

Cranston would play Vilos Cohaagen, the leader of Euromerica, who is planning on invading New Shanghai while pretending to be protecting his people of Euromerica, The 2 female leads have yet to be cast

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Reports that the reboot of the "Child's Play" was said to be gaining momentum are premature

Collider contacted MGM, where marketing head Michael Vollman denied that there’d be a remake.

In case you’re out of the loop or just don’t remember the original film, this horror classic introduced the world to Chucky, the doll possessed by the spirit of a murderer. For better or for worse, the little scarred doll has been iconic in the world of slasher flicks ever since he hit the silver screen.

Though the rumor’s been debunked (for now), how *would* you feel about a revamp of the Chucky films?

Don’t Look Now might be a brilliantly cerebral horror film, but the film is more famous for something a bit more scandalous. The steamy sex scene between leads Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland has been thought of by some as too steamy to be just a scene.

Christie and Sutherland have had to constantly deny the notion that the two actually engaged in intercourse while filming the scene. Now the controversy rears its ugly head again. In his book Famous Players: A Tale of Movies, The Mob, (And Sex), Former Variety Editor Peter Bart asserts that he saw them getting intimate during his time on the set.

The 23-year-old Fuller died a week after his song became a hit in 1966 and was ruled a suicide. This, despite his body being found battered and having had gasoline poured down his throat.

The drama follows a grieving screenwriter who sets out on a crusade to solve the mystery of Fuller's death.

Hall will play a corrupt, wheelchair-bound manager of the dead musician. Marsden will play Charles Manson and Leo will play a Manson Family matriarch who tells the writer the answers may be found in 16 mm snuff films buried in Death Valley.

Really intrigued by the notion of Marsden playing Manson--Given his nice guy everyman quality

Michael Shannon was also linked to the project but his reps say scheduling conflicts have forced him out of the pic

The book is being adapted by Adam Davenport and Kaye. Davenport is going to make his directorial debut on the film

The basic story will remain the same of a princess waiting for a charming prince's kiss to awaken her from a witch's curse, this version will be told from her point of view and will spend a lot of time in a dream world which she has to find her way out of.

The spec package is out to buyers.

The film is not to be confused with Maleficent, which is being scripted by Linda Woolverton, and has Tim Burton attached to helm. That pic will be told from the point of view of the Evil Queen

“We need to find another director and once we’ve found that, we’ll be able to know. It’s too early to call on Japan, I’m not sure where they’re at, so now we’re finding another director, but Fox is very anxious to make the movie and we’re moving ahead full steam to find another director”

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Palmer will play the daughter of a military leader who tires of constantly fighting off the zombie horde in a world overrun by the undead and begins a relationship with the zombie (Nicholas Hoult of X-Men: First Class) that ate her boyfriend.

Dench tells the paper “I am going to do the next Bond in November. I don’t know the location yet but hopefully it will be somewhere nice. I can’t tell you much more but I do enjoy playing M as she is such a strong character. I like being bossy and my grandson thinks its cool that I’m in Bond.”

Last month Steve Zaillian, who penned the third film in the franchise "Clear and Present Danger", was attached to re-write Cozad's work. A few weeks later Zaillian withdrew from the job and the studio is now seeking another writer to perform further work

The studio still wants to have actor Chris Pine as Ryan, therefore the production plans have been pushed back by at least a few months so that Pine can shoot the as yet Untitled Star Trek Sequel before, rather than after the Ryan reboot as originally intended. Trek 2 has a release date already set for July 29, 2012. but J.J. Abrams still hasn't officially signed on to helm.

Insiders insist that a Ryan pic could have been put into production this year, but the priority now is in launching a franchise than filling in a release date ASAP

The first of the films not to be based on a specific book by Tom Clancy, the story will nevertheless use elements from the series. In this case the action picks up with Ryan in his pre-analyst days with the launching point of the film being a helicopter crash that nearly killed him when he was a marine - an incident mentioned in the first film The Hunt for Red October in 1991.

“To get into the production office, you have to have someone meet you and there are keys and various doors that lock. The script you read in the production office, and there is no ending because[Nolan] tells you the ending so that it doesn’t leak and get out, and people spoil it on the internet.”

Despite all the reports of story spoilers-none of them are accurate.....

The release date for the found footage sci-fi film Apollo 18 from an April 22nd to a January 6th 2012 release date according to Deadline,

The entire film process employed a breakneck pace to cast, shoot, edit and all within six months. putting the film out the first weekend of January could spell trouble---even though the trailer generated lots of buzz

Sunday, March 27, 2011

For the past two years, a film about the legendary Yang Guifei, an imperial concubine who lived during the Tang Dynasty, has been developing without a director. However, that problem has been resolved.

The Hollywood Reporter brings news that Antoine Fuqua, who’s perhaps most famous for his Oscar-winning film Training Day, will helm the $30 million film. The film, that still doesn’t have a title, accounts for Yang’s romance with Emperor Xuanzong, whose monarchy lasted longer than any other in the Tang Dynasty.

Fuqua’s also got the Tupac biopic to direct. Sounds like he’ll be busy for quite a while.

Adams got the news a few hours ago from Snyder who phoned her from Paris.

Snyder tells the paper “There was a big, giant search for Lois. For us it was a big thing and obviously a really important role. We did a lot of auditioning but we had this meeting with Amy Adams and after that I just felt she was perfect for it.”

Snyder would not go into the extent of the Lois role in the story other than saying it's “a linchpin” to the project with his take on Lois set to have "contemporary appeal and spirit".

“It goes back to what I’ve said about Superman and making him really understandable for today. What’s important to us is making him relevant and real and making him empathetic to today’s audience so that we understand the decisions he makes. That applies to Lois as well. She has to be in the same universe as him [in tone] and substance"

Adams has proven that she can muster up that trademark Lois spunk and fearless nature...Solid choice...!

Fox 2000's kids sequel Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules easily won the weekend box office race, grossing a hearty $24.4 million and delivering Fox a new franchise. Warner Bros.' Sucker Punch wasn't as lucky, grossing $19 million in a soft start for the action-fantasy.

Rodrick Rules came in ahead of the original Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which opened a year ago to $22.1 million. The sequel, which cost a modest $18 million to produce, enjoyed a mammoth uptick in business on Saturday thanks to family traffic.

Warners had expected Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch--which cost $75 million to produce--to clear $20 million in its opening, but said on Sunday it was nevertheless pleased with the outcome. Warners is a huge supporter of Snyder, who is directing the upcoming Superman: Man of Steel.

Rodrick Rules drew an A- CinemaScore; Sucker Punch, a B-.

Holdovers Limitless and The Lincoln Lawyer both enjoyed strong holds in their second weekend, coming in No. 3 and No. 4 respectively.

Limitless, a win for Relativity Media's new distribution operation, fell 19% to an estimated $15.2 million for a cume of $41.3 million in its first 10 days.

Lionsgate's The Lincoln Lawyer fell 17% to an estimated $10.9 million for a cume of $28.8 million.

Paramount's Rango crossed the $100 million mark over the weekend, as did Sony's Adam Sandler-Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy Just Go With It. They are the first 2011 releases to clear $100 million.

Rango came in No. 5 for the weekend, falling 32% to an estimated $9.7 million for a cume of $106.3 million in fourth weekend...

The story has The Wizard (Franco) as a “snake-oil salesman” who enters the Technicolor world of Oz after escaping the vengeful husband of his latest sexual conquest. Once in Oz, he lies to the natives, claiming to be a wizard. This deceitful Casanova soon falls for Glinda the Good Witch, and spurns Theodora (Kunis) prompting her to becomes a bad witch and team up with the downright evil Evanora to destroy Oz

Rupert Sander directs from an Evan Daugherty script-- this version of the classic fairy tale expands the role of the Huntsman in the fairy tale. When the evil queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) orders him to take her stepdaughter Snow White (Kristen Stewart) into the woods and kill her, Huntsman Eric instead lets her go and becomes something of a mentor who teaches her how to fight and survive

What I wanna know is whether not Viggo is back on the list as "a person of interest" to play the villain in Zack Snyder's Superman: Man of Steel--now that he's off the Hunt? Let the casting of the Huntsman rumors begin again

"It’s not a biopic," said Peter Farrelly. "It takes place in present day, and they will look, dress and sound exactly like the original Stooges..." And the PG-rated film will divide into three, 27-minute segments driven by physical comedy.

At first blush it's the Marsden thing that jumps out--But then I remeber how funny he was in the romp Sex Drive and I think ok maybe that could work though Johnny Knoxville would have made a better Moe

The project is based on the Suzanne Collins novel series which have developed a major following across all age groups and is said to potentially be the 'next Twilight'.

The story involves a young love triangle playing out against a dystopian future where North America has been divided into twelve oppressed districts, each of which is forced to send tribute in the form of a boy and a girl to compete in a televised battle to the death once a year.

What??! Alex Pettyfer is not on the casting sheet--He seemingly is up for every other young Male Lead in Hollywood (lidding but it's true)! I have no horse in the race here but all seem ready for stardom Till and Jen will appear in X-Men: First Class together...Does that give him an edge?

Testing began yesterday in Los Angeles

Collins adapted her own book into script form which Billy Ray has re-written.

The Max Werner, script described as a cross between Superbad and Adventures in Babysitting centers on a sarcastic teenage girl who is forced to take her little brother trick-or-treating on Halloween, then loses him and must find him before their mother finds out.

Friday, March 25, 2011

The latest batch of news covering stuff I had not talked about yet....

-Shia LaBeouf is attached to star in the film adaptation of Joe Hill's bestselling novel "Horns" says Variety. LaBeouf will play Ig Perrish, a 26-year-old who awakens from a hangover to find horns sprouting from his head. As his horns grow bigger, Ig sets out to investigate the unsolved murder of his girlfriend and the case's connection to his cursed fate.

-Fourteen years since "Face/Off", stars Nicolas Cage and John Travolta look to be reuniting on two indie thrillers reports Vulture.

-Oscar-winning "The King’s Speech" director Tom Hooper has begun negotiations to direct a film adaptation of the stage musical version of "Les Miserables" for Universal Pictures and Working Title reports Variety. While "Speech" scribe David Seidler has been hired to work on two scripts according to Variety--And the 'The King's Speech' PG-13 Version Gets Release Date

-Filmmakers Colin and Greg Strause talk up their next project, to Movieweb saying "War of the Ages", is going to be a mash-up of fights between history's greatest warriors.

-Actor C. Thomas Howell recently told Retroradio that The Lizard (Rhys Ifans) will be the main antagonist who battles Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) in the upcoming "The Amazing Spider-Man".

-David Fincher is in talks to helm the log gestating PG-13 3-D biopic based on the life of ancient Egyptian ruler Cleopatra says Deadline

-Director Doug Liman is teaming with producers Rob Reiner and Alan Greisman to create a biopic of Morris Abraham called "Two Gun" says The Hollywood Reporter.

-Coming Attractions reports that due to the 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan on March 11th, the entire region is expected to continue to experience aftershocks for years to come and may affect James Cameron's Avatar sequels.

-Vulture reports that with a budget estimate of $125 million, Paramount will likely drop World War Z unless it can find a co-financier.

-Actress Sienna Guillory has confirmed via Twitter that she has joined the cast of Resident Evil 5.

-Samuel L. Jackson, Luke Kirby and Ruth Negga are all set to star in neo-noir thriller "The Samaritan" for Anonymous Content reports Variety. The story follows a former grifter (Jackson) who sets out to put his life of crime behind him after serving a twenty-year prison sentence. He meets an elusive young woman (Negga), but it's not long before the son (Kirby) of his former partner asks him for help with an ingenious plan. David Weaver directs from a script he co-wrote with Elan Mastai ("Alone in the Dark").

-Director Paul Greengrass is helming the Martin Luther King Jr assassination drama "Memphis" reports Deadline. Set in the days leading up to Dr. King's assassination in Tennessee in April 1968, this pic recounts when his marriage was faltering, his outspokenness on the Vietnam War cost him his relationship with President Lyndon B. Johnson, and his intent put him on the fringes of the rising Black Power movement.

-Lily Collins has been offered the role of Stormy Llewellyn in Stephen Sommers' adaptation of Dean Koontz's 2003 novel "Odd Thomas" says Variety.

-Emma Roberts is attached while an offer is out to Zach Galifianakis for roles in the coming-of-age comedy "Adult World" reports The Playlist. Andrew Cochran penned the script. Roberts plays a recent Stanford graduate who believes she's destined to be a great poet, but instead winds up working for an adult book store. Scott Coffey ("Ellie Parker") will direct.

-Filmmaker Francis Lawrence ("Constantine," "I Am Legend") is in talks to take over on Sony's long-gestating Houdini biopic reports Variety.

-Deadline reports that author Michael Connelly (The Lincoln Lawyer)'s hatching plans to buy back the film rights to his character LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch from Paramount

-"I Love You, Man" co-stars Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg are set to team again for the long-gestating romantic dramedy "Celeste and Jesse Forever" reports The Los Angeles Times. The story centers on a couple who is getting divorced but wants to remain friends while they pursue new relationships. Jones and Will McCormack penned the script. Lee Toland Krieger will direct.